Feds halt South Carolina commercial shrimping to protect spawn

The NOAA Fisheries Service has announced a fishing closure for the federal waters off South Carolina to all fishing for brown, pink and white shrimp.

The closure went into effect on Wednesday at 4:15 p.m.

The closure has been put into effect to protect the white shrimp spawning population.

On Wednesday, January 10, South Carolina closed its state waters to all shrimping due to a prolonged period of water temperatures at or below 9 degrees Celsius in the region.

During the closure, possession of brown, pink, or white shrimp is prohibited on board a vessel in federal waters off South Carolina. This is only allowed if the vessel is in transit through the area with proper netting.

And any vessel trawling within 25 nautical miles seaward from the South Carolina shoreline must use trawl nets with a minimum mesh size of four inches or greater.